Writing for the web is not the same as writing for print publications. Web visitors scan content; they don't read every line on the page and every word in a line of copy. They are searching for information. Help them find it.

Writing for the web best practices

Organize your content for visitors who scan pages.

Decide the purpose or goal of the page and make sure the content supports it.

Write like a journalist and use the inverted pyramid formula: most important content at the top, least important at the bottom.

What not to do

Don't write in all caps. Assistive devices will read each letter as an individual letter. For example, "SCREAM" would be read as S-C-R-E-A-M.

Writing link text

Don't use generic anchor text for your hyperlinked text. For example, the terms "click here," "read more," "learn more," and "here" are not descriptive enough for a web visitor using assistive technology to understand all the links on a page.

If you are linking to a document (PDF, Word document), note the document type in parenthesis or brackets after your descriptive anchor text.